Garment hanger



May 28, 1957 J. FRANK ETAL GARMENT HANGER Filed July 24, 1956 FIG.'2. 1 77 2/ 20 INVENTORS: J l Frank Ge rge R United States Patent U GARMENT HANGER John Frank, I-Iolbrook, and George Rosch, Ronkonkoma, N. Y.

Application July 24, 1956, Serial No. 599,879

10 Claims. (Cl. 223- -95) result, when variations in the width of the two trouser legs exist (a common situation), the larger one of the legs will not be properly engaged and held. Under such circumstances it is a common experience to find that one leg of the garment, or perhaps the entire garment, will slip from the hanger and fall to the floor.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a trouser hanger in which means is provided by which the supporting elements for the trouser legs are independently adjustable, whereby a positive fit of the supports in the respective trouser legs is assured. As a result, the cuff portions of the trousers will be individually stretched between their supporting elements, and the garment will be securely held against slippage from the hanger.

It is another object of the invention to provide a trouser hanger of this character wherein independent adjustment of the effective length of the hanger bars is easily obtained and a positive maintenance of the adjustment of these bars is secured so that the legs of the trousers will be firmly held regardless of variation in size of the two legs.

A further objective is to achieve these advantages by means of a construction which is light in weight, inexpensive to manufacture, easily usable, and attractive in appearance.

With these and other objects in view, we have devised the arrangement of parts now to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a trouser hanger constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view, taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one end of the hanger, showing how the supporting bars are independently adjustable as to their etiective lengths;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the hanger, with parts in section; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view showing a modified construction.

The improved trouser hanger may be constructed entirely of light-weight thin elements of metal or equivalent rigid material, and in the form shown it includes an elongated stationary central bar or strip, preferably provided at one end with a laterally-bent extremity 2. Adjacent to the end 2 is a pair of fiat, spaced fingers 3 and 4, these fingers being secured to the bar 1 by means of rivets from the conventional rod.

1 pair of dogs or pawls 20 and 20a. M 20 is adapted for engagement with the toothed or serrated upper edge 19 of the bar 6, while the pawl shown at 20a 2,793,799 Patented Mayv 28, 1957 5 or equivalent fastening elements. The fingers 3 and 4 extend downwards and are spaced apart so that each of them may be inserted into a trouser leg. On opposite sides of the bar 1 are a pair of independently slidable and adjustable outer bars 6 and 7. These bars are generally similar in construction, and each is independently adjustable longitudinally of the bar 1. The bars 1, 6 and 7 are maintained in the adjustable relationship by means of the rivets 8 and 10 and their respective washers 9 and 11. These rivets are in fixed relationship in the bar 1 and they extend respectively through elongated slots 12 and 13 in the adjustable bar 6, and through similar slots in the bar 7, one of which is shown at 13a in Fig. 4. The rivets and slots constitute guide means forthe longitudinal adjustments of the slidable bars with respect to the centrally located fixed bar.

At one end, the bar 6 is provided with a laterally-bent;

end 25 constituting a finger-grip, and the bar 7 is provided with a similar laterally-bent end 27, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A trouser-leg-engaging finger 14 is secured to the end portion of the adjustable bar 6 by means of the rivets 15 or equivalent fastening elements. A similar trouser-leg-engaging finger 29 is attached to the end portion of the bar 7 by the rivets shown at 28.

Each of the fingers 14 and 29 cooperates with the corresponding one of the fixed bar fingers 3, 4 in engaging within and stretching the open end of one of the trouser legs. Each trouser leg is thus individually engaged and properly stretched to the degree required.

At its midportion the fixed bar 1 is provided with a hanger element. We have shown a hanger plate 16 secured to one side of the bar 1 by the rivets 18 or similar fastening elements and a similar plate 17 fastened to the opposite side of the bar 1 by said rivets. The plates 16 and 17 are suitably spaced apart by washers or other spacing elements to insure free sliding movement of the adjustable bars 6 and 7 between them. At their upper ends the hanger plates 16 and 17 are each provided with an aperture 23 which receives the loop 33 of a supporting hook 24 by means of which the hangermay be supported Pivotally mounted between the plates 16 and 17 is a The pawl shown at engages the toothed or serrated edge 19a on the adjustable bar 7. These dogs or pawls 20 and 20a are so shaped and pivotally mounted that they readily permit slidable :movement of the-bars 6 and 7 in a direction away from the fixed bar 1 (to the right in Fig. 1), but unless the dogs or pawls are manually raised, they prevent retracting movement of the bars 6 and 7 in the opposite direction.

From the foregoing, the operation of the improved trouser hanger will be readily understood. The fingers 4 and 14 are inserted into one leg of the trousers, and the bar 6 is slid outwardly or away from bar 1 to the extent required to enablethe fingers 4 and 14 to stretch the cuff portion between them suificiently to smooth out any wrinkles and hold the trouser leg againstfalling from the fingers. Similarly, the second leg of the trousers is placed over the fingers 3 and 29, the bar 7 being slid outwardly and away from bar 1 for the distance required to cause the leg of the trousers to be smoothly drawn between the fingers 3 and 29. It will thus be apparent that the trouser-engaging elements for the two legs of the garment are independently adjustable, so that any variation in the width of the trouser legs will be compensated for and each leg firmly engaged and held smoothly stretched between the fingers which are insertedinto it. The'user is thus assured that neither 'of the trouser legs can becomeinadvertently freed from the hanger,;

and that each cuff portion will be held in properly stretched condition between the engaging fingers.

To release the legs of the trousers from the fingers, the bars 6 and 7 may be retractedby manually raising the dogs or'pawls 20 and 20a and sliding the bars to retracted position. The lateral ends or finger-pieces 2, 27 and 25 facilitate the slidable movements of the several bars. A pin 22 extends between the plates 16 and 17 to limit the raising movements of the dogs20 and 20a.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 6 we have shown another means by which the bars 6 and 7 may be held in any desired extended position. In this case a cam member 32 is eccentrically pivoted at 31 between the hanger plates 16 and 17. The cam member engages againstthe upper edge of the bar over which it is positioned, there being two of these cams, one for eachof the two bars 6 and '7. By manipulation of these cams, and sliding movement of the bars 6 and 7, the bars can each be fixed in any adjusted position so that each of the trouser legs will be insured of a smooth and snug fit between the fingers of the hanger fitted within it.

Although we have described two embodiments of the invention, it is obvious that it is not necessarily to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims,

What we claim is:

1. A trouser hanger comprising: a fixed bar provided at one end with a pair of trouser-engaging fingers, a pair of slidable bars between which the fixed bar is posi tioned, means independently supporting each of the slidable bars on the fixed bar whereby the slidable bars are independently longitudinally adjustable with respect to the fixed bar, each of the slidable bars being provided at its free end with a trouser-engaging finger, and means carried by the fixed bar and engageable with the slidable bars for permitting independent movement of each slidable bar in one direction and preventing movement thereof in the opposite direction relative to the fixed bar.

2. A trouser hanger comprising: a fixed bar having a pair of trouser-engaging fingers at one end, a pair of slidable bars between which the fixed bar is sandwiched, guide elements on the fixed bar, means on the slidable bars in guided engagement with said guide elements whereby each of the slidable bars is independently longitudinally adjustable relative to theufixed bar, and locking means engaging edges of the slidable bars and permitting independent movement of each slidable bar in one direction and preventing movement thereof in the opposite direction, said locking means being manually releasable.

3. In a trouser hanger, a fixed bar having an offset end, a pair of trouser-engaging fingers secured to the bar adjacent to said end, a pair of longitudinally-slidable bars between which the fixed bar is positioned, pins extending through the fixed bar, the slidable bars having slots in which said pins are positioned, the slidable bars having serrated upper edges, spaced plates secured to the fixed bar, and pawls pivotally mounted between the plates and respectively engaging the serrated upper edges of the slidable bars, the slidable bars being each provided with a trouser-engaging finger at its end.

4. In a trouser hanger, a central bar, side bars between which the central bar is positioned, means independently supporting each of the side bars on the central bar whereby the side bars are independently slidable longi tudinally of the center bar, the bars having fingers between which the two legs of trousers are stretched, and means carried by the central bar and engageable with the edges of the side bars for independently fixing each of the side bars in any selected extended position relatively to the central bar.

5. In a trouser hanger, the elements defined in claim 4, wherein the means which engages the edges of the side bars consists of a pair of pivoted pawls, and the edges of the side bars are serrated to engage with said pawls.

6. In a trouser hanger, a fixed elongated bar having an otfset end, a pair of trouser-leg-engaging fingers secured to the bar adjacent to said end and extending downwardly therefrom, a pair of elongated longitudinallyslidable bars between which the fixed bar is positioned, fixed guide pins extending through the fixed bar, the slidable bars having elongated slots in which said guide pins are positioned, each slidable bar having a serrated upper edge for a portion of its length, spaced plates secured to the fixed bar, the slidable bars being located between said plates, pawls pivotally mounted between the plates and respectively engaging the serrated upper edges of the slidable bars, the slidable bars being each provided with a trouser-leg-engaging finger at its end, and each slidable bar having an oflE-set end adjacent to its finger.

7. In a trouser hanger, a central elongated bar, side bars between which the central bar is positioned, means independently supporting each of the side bars on the central bar whereby the side bars are independently slidable longitudinally of the central bar, said supporting means including guide means for guiding the side bars during their sliding movements, the bars having fingers between which the two legs of trousers are stretched, and cam means pivoted to the central bar and engageable with the edges of the side bars by which either of the side bars may be fixed in any selected extended position relative to the central bar.

8. In a trouser hanger, a central bar, a pair of side bars between which the central bar is positioned, the central bar being provided at one end with a pair of trouserleg-engaging fingers, the side bars being each provided with a longitudinal slot, pins in the central bar engaging in said slots, a pair of hanger plates secured in spaced relationship to the central bar, the side bars being longitudinally slidable between said plates, each of the side bars being provided with serrations in its top edge, dogs pivoted between the plates above the serrated edges, each dog being adapted for engagement with one of the serrated edges, said engagement permitting extended movement of either side bar in a direction endwise with respect to the central bar but preventing return movement of the side bar, the dogs being manually operative to permit such return movement, and each of the side bars being provided with a trouser-leg-engaging finger.

9. In a trouser hanger, a fixed bar having a pair of trouser-engaging fingers at one end, one for each trouser leg, a hanging element secured to the vmidportion of said fixed bar, a pair of slidable bars one on each side of the fixed bar, supporting and guide means securing the slidable bars individually to the fixed bar to permit independent longitudinal adjustment of each slidable bar relative to the fixed bar, and a trouser-engaging finger at the outer end of each slidable bar for cooperative action with the corresponding one of the fixed bar fingers in engaging within and stretching one of said trouser legs.

10. In a trouser hanger, the combination with the elements defined in claim 9, of means carried by said hanging element for individual releasable engagement with each slidable bar to lock said bar in any selected adjusted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 697,103 Pickhardt Apr. 18, 1902 907,321 Davis Dec. 22, 1908 1,410,411 Scofield Mar. 21, 1922 1,503,236 Grimberg July 29, 1924 1,897,078 Sjowall Feb. 14, 1933 2,732,982 Leonard Ian. 31, 1956 2,739,744 Beierle Mar. 27, 1956 

